The Buried (27 page)

The initial moment of panic he’d felt when she came on the line all but disappeared when she mentioned the amount. Cautiously he said, “I appreciate your initiative, but I don’t know who you are. You could be screwing with me.”

“Have you ever heard of The Wolf?”

The name tickled something in the back of his mind, but it could have just been a memory of some Animal Planet show he accidentally saw.

“Sorry, I don’t know anyone called The Wolf. And I’m certainly not doing any business with you until I see the cash.”

“Of course not. That’s why I’ve created two escrow accounts, each holding twenty-five million dollars. With the help of your colleague here, I’ll send you information on the first account.”

“The terms are full price, up front,” he said.

“Half now, and half when I see the girl. That’s
my
terms, Mr. Orbits. They are more than fair.”

Orbits wanted to tell her where she could stuff her terms, but if she’d been able to get to Donnie, then she might be able to get to him, too. He’d much rather keep things civil.

“I let you see her, but I get the money before you take possession,” he said.

“Agreed,” she said. “When and where?”

“Nine a.m. tomorrow morning,” Orbits said. “As for the where, give me your phone number.”

“I’m not sure I like where this is going,” she said.

“You don’t have to like it. Just give me the number.”

He wrote down the number as she recited it, and then said, “Be in Minneapolis by seven a.m. local time, ready to fly. I’ll call you then with further instructions.”

Before she had a chance to reply, he disconnected and turned his phone off.

__________

N
ATE GLANCED OVER
at Quinn. “Sounds like the party just got hijacked.”

“It certainly does,” Quinn said.

“By The Wolf.”

“Apparently.”

They were silent for a few moments.

“So if he wants her in Minneapolis by seven,” Nate said, “and the meeting’s at nine, then, assuming they have to do some ground traveling when they arrive, wherever we’re headed can’t be much more than an hour and a half’s flight away from Minnesota.”

Quinn nodded. The direction they were headed narrowed the choices down to somewhere in an area consisting of western Illinois, most of Missouri, eastern Kansas, and the northeast corner of Oklahoma.

He figured that St. Louis, the biggest city in the target area, was probably their destination, but less than fifteen minutes later, the ambulance transitioned onto the I-72 westbound, knocking St. Louis out of the running.

Conversation in the other car had dropped to almost zero.

“How much battery life did your phone have left when you gave it to me?” Quinn asked.

“Not sure. Maybe eighty percent.”

Both phones had already been on and active for a few hours, and while Quinn’s had been plugged in as they drove, Nate’s had not. If the battery ran out of juice, they’d lose the ability to even passively track it.

Quinn hesitated a moment longer, and then disconnected the call.

CHAPTER
34

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

O
RLANDO HAD DAENG
take them to Nate’s house in the Hollywood Hills. Technically, it was Quinn’s, but he’d moved in with her in San Francisco and had allowed Nate to use the property rent free. Nate had, in turn, let Daeng use one of the guest rooms.

“So this is the famous L.A. bachelor lair,” Ananke said as they walked inside. “I’ve heard so much about it.” She looked at Orlando, an eyebrow raised. “Tell me, is this where Quinn made his move on you?”

And I was just beginning to tolerate her
, Orlando thought.

Stifling the string of obscenities that wanted to leap from her lips, she asked Daeng, “First-aid kit still in the same place?”

“Yeah,” he said.

While Orlando was grabbing the kit out of the closet by the bathroom, the muscles in her lower abdomen contracted. She latched on to the shelf to keep from staggering, and took a few deep, quiet breaths. When the pain subsided enough for her to walk again, she returned to the living room.

Orlando sat next to Helen on the couch. The woman was clearly exhausted, but the dazed look she’d had in her eyes when they first found her was gone. Now there was only anger.

Using a damp towel Ananke had brought in from the kitchen, Orlando started to clean the dried blood from the director’s face.

“You don’t have to do that,” Helen said.

“I know,” Orlando replied.

“Did you get her?” Helen asked.

“Who?”

“Nanou Deschamps.”

“I don’t know who that is.”

“The Wolf. Did you get her?”

Orlando shook her head. “She wasn’t there.”

Helen stared off in the distance for a moment before turning back to Orlando. “Tell me what’s happening.”

Two hours later, weakened from her ordeal but out for blood, Helen flew north to San Francisco.

__________

W
HEN THE AMBULANCE
stopped to refuel in Hannibal, Missouri, Quinn and Nate did the same at a station a block away. While Nate filled the tank, Quinn walked down the street and found a place where he could watch the others without being noticed.

The driver was out of the vehicle, pumping gas. After a few moments, the ambulance’s back door opened and another guy got out. He shared a few words with the driver before heading toward the snack shop.

When the driver returned the nozzle to the pump, the third man got out and stretched. He was the one who’d been shielded from view back at the building in Broadview, so this was the first time Quinn was able to get a good look at him.

Suddenly, Dani’s disappearance at the roadblock in Washington made more sense. Quinn knew this guy. Orlando had forwarded him the man’s picture the night before.

Ananke’s hunter friend.

Ricky Orbits.

__________

T
HANK GOD THE
ambulance had a good air conditioner, because even with the sun down, it was still blazing hot and sticky outside. Orbits let the thing run at full blast for a while after they left Hannibal before finally turning it down again.

He should be happy, he thought. He was on the cusp of receiving a fifty-million-dollar payday. He already had the account number for where half was waiting. He’d checked, and it was all there. The only problem was that it was time locked to prevent him from transferring it into one of his own accounts until 9:01 a.m. the following morning, and only after The Wolf gave a final authorization.

She could be tricky in her way, and he could be tricky in his. He was going to get a kick out of handing the girl to her within miles of her ultimate destination. No doubt, the woman would fly the girl somewhere else to question her. By the time The Wolf discovered the truth, Orbits would have already taken whatever was of value at the location and gotten the hell out of there. The only thing he would have to worry about for the rest of his life was whether or not he was getting too much sun as he lay on the beach of some tropical paradise. He just needed to get the combo out of the girl.

“Boss,” Parnell called from the back. “She’s waking up.”

Orbits unlatched his seat belt and worked his way to the rear of the ambulance.

Moaning, she moved her head side to side in a slow roll. Her whole body began to tense in a stretch, but when she knocked against the straps holding her down, she stopped and opened her eyes.

“Evening, princess,” Orbits said. “I trust you had a nice, comfortable sleep.”

Even though she was tied down, she lunged at him, rocking the gurney.

“Careful, sweetheart. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

She settled back, seething.

“Let me tell you what’s going to happen,” he said, smiling. “A nice lady with lots of money has shown a real interest in you. In the morning, she’s going to give me some of that cash and I’m going to give her you. She calls herself The Wolf. That familiar to you?”

He could see that it was.

“You know how much she’s paying? Fifty million. That’s dollars. Not bad, huh? I bet it’s even some kind of record.” He paused. “I wonder if Guinness keeps track of that.”

Again, she lunged. This time the gurney popped from one of its holds and moved a few inches toward Orbits. He jerked back, ramming his head into an equipment cabinet.

“You
bitch
! You think you’re so damn smart.” He wrapped his hand around her neck and squeezed. “But guess what? I know your secret. I know about the numbers under your tongue. Who’s the clever one now, huh?”

He shoved her down and let go, then returned to his seat up front to the sounds of her coughs.

“Everything all right?” Stafford asked.

“Everything’s fine,” Orbits said, shutting down any further conversation.

Only it wasn’t fine. He had just screwed up big time. He should have never told her he’d found the numbers. She could tell The Wolf right after he handed her over and he’d have to kiss whatever treasure she had hidden good-bye.

Dammit, dammit, dammit!

He would have to do something to rectify the situation. At the very least, drug the girl so she wouldn’t wake up for a day or two. Of course, The Wolf wouldn’t be pleased by that. Maybe she’d even refuse to authorize the final payment.

Son.

Of.

A.

Bitch.

__________

A
S THEY NEARED
Kansas City,
Quinn thought the others would be exiting the interstate soon, but the ambulance passed right through the center of the city and headed west into Kansas.

“Where the hell are they going?” Nate asked.

“We’ve got Lawrence and Topeka coming up,” Quinn said, after a quick check of the map. “After that it’s a long haul through farm country to Denver.”

“If we keep going much longer, you’re going to have to take over.”

Quinn looked at his partner. “You need me to drive now?”

There was no missing the exhaustion in Nate’s eyes. “I’m good for a little while longer.”

“Pull over.”

“I’m okay.”

“Pull over.”

With a resigned nod, Nate eased the car onto the shoulder. By the time they were on the road again, the ambulance was nearly a mile ahead.

They passed through Lawrence and soon after were driving through Topeka. By that point Nate was more asleep than awake, so when Quinn’s phone vibrated in his partner’s hand, Nate jerked and nearly dropped it.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said. “It’s, um, Orlando.”

“Speaker.”

As Nate hit the button, Quinn increased their speed to be back in sight of the ambulance in a few minutes.

“Don’t tell me you’re still following them,” she said.

“Driving through Topeka, Kansas, right now,” Quinn told her.

“If you’re lucky, maybe they’ll come all the way to California.”

“I’m not sure I’d call that luck,” Nate said, trying to stifle a yawn.

“How’s Helen?” Quinn asked. He’d been less than pleased earlier when Orlando told him about the rescue, but begrudgingly had to admit she, Daeng, and Ananke had done the right thing.

“Haven’t heard from her since she got back to San Francisco.”

“What have you guys been doing, then?”

“Sleeping mostly. Nate, just an FYI. Ananke is using your bed so you might want to burn it.”

“Noted,” Nate said.

“The others are still asleep?” Quinn asked.

“Yeah.”

“Why aren’t you?”

“I had a few hours but I’m awake now. Thought I’d see what was going on with you.”

Quinn frowned. “Is everything all right?”

“Of course everything’s all right. Why wouldn’t it be all right?” She paused. “Oh, unless you mean the baby. I delivered a few hours ago. Should I have called you?”

“Hilarious,” he said. “Seriously, though, how are you feeling?”

“Annoyed that you keep asking me that every time we talk.”

The city was beginning to fall away, leaving only the great plains in front of them. Quinn eased around a big rig, thinking they should now be able to pick out the distinctive taillights of the ambulance. But while he could see lights of trucks and passenger cars, he didn’t see the ambulance.

Orlando was in the middle of saying something when Quinn blurted out, “Hang on.” He glanced at Nate. “Check their location.”

Nate put Orlando on hold and switched to the tracking app. A short pause, then, “They turned off.”

“Where?” Quinn asked.

“Back in Topeka.”

Quinn made a fast U-turn through the grass-covered center meridian and raced into the eastbound lanes.

“They’re in the north part of the city, across the Kansas River,” Nate said.

“Still moving?”

“Yes.”

“Where do I exit?”

“Checking.” Nate studied the screen for a moment. “First Avenue. It’s about three miles ahead.”

“Put Orlando back on.”

Nate took her off hold.

“What’s going on?” she said.

“Our friends left the interstate in Topeka.”

“Stopping?”

“Unclear.”

“Tell me as soon as you know.”

“I will.”

LOS ANGELES

O
RLANDO HUNG UP
and stared out the large window that overlooked the Los Angeles basin. The city lay before her like a brightly glowing carpet but she saw none of it, her thoughts focused on Quinn and Nate.

Though both men were extremely competent, there were only two of them. That would have been fine if they just had to worry about the men in the ambulance, but the auction meant others would likely soon be showing up.

Despite those odds, she knew Quinn would still try to rescue Dani .

She phoned her Los Angeles transportation contact. Once arrangements were made, she went downstairs and woke Daeng and Ananke.

EASTERN KANSAS

B
Y THE TIME
Quinn took the First Avenue off-ramp, the ambulance was already out of town, continuing north on Highway 4. The road was a single lane in each direction, but traffic was light. Quinn pushed their speed a bit above the limit.